According to an article posted to TracedNews.com, lawyers claim that Sophia Pinedo, the finance manager at Tropical Chevrolet, is innocent of the forgery charges for which she was arrested back in early February.
Back on February 4th, we had shared the story of the arrest of Pinedo. We reported on how she was charged with forging a financial document to help a client purchase a vehicle worth over $50,000.
However, TracedNews reported that Pinedo’s attorney, Michael Gottlieb, claims Pinedo is a victim in this case and is not a criminal. Gottlieb is quoted as saying, “My client is innocent. She never intended to deceive anyone.”
TracedNews also shared a statement from Tropical Chevrolet’s general manager, Daniel Sanchili: “We recently learned from our dealer that an allegedly falsified ID was used in the purchase of the vehicle several months ago. We are fully cooperating with the authorities and conducting our own. Meanwhile, while the investigation continues, employees who are determined to have funded the transaction have been placed on leave. We pride ourselves on providing quality vehicles and have placed tens of thousands of people in our cars…This is the first time we’ve heard of any such allegations. We take it very seriously and respond accordingly, but we cannot comment further because it may affect the investigation.“
Tropical Chevrolet has been in business for many years and has a great reputation in South Florida.
As the facts reveal themselves, we’ll eventually find out whether or not Sofia Pinedo is a criminal, or a victim defrauded by the buyer. Only time will tell.
Remember: Pinedo, like anyone else arrested, is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty or admitting to a guilty plea in a court of law.
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